Espionage Legend
by Friedrickson2
Summary: After the Avengers stumble upon a wrecked HYDRA base, they try and find out as much as they can about who might have done it.
1. Chapter 1

The HYDRA base was in ruins. Smoke came out of the main building, trucks, jeeps and cars were burnt-out and there were dead HYDRA soldiers scattered around the area, some of them on fire. This was what the Avengers were not expecting when they arrived at the base, intending to capture the leaders of this particular HYDRA cell in Sweden, the main cell of Northern Europe.

Tony Stark, aka 'Iron Man' flew up and scanned every inch and millimetre of the base. He then flew down, delivering to the others what he had discovered. "Nada. Everybody here is dead. JARVIS says it must've taken whoever did this at least half an hour. I did find this, however." He showed the Avengers a single gun. A Walther PPK/S 9mm pistol.

The Avengers' reactions were varied, from Steve 'Captain America' Rogers's widened eyes and raised eyebrows to Natasha Romanova's face turning pale, and her lip quivering slightly. This was not unnoticed by her team-mates.

"What's wrong, Nat?" asked Clint Barton, alias 'Hawkeye'. Like Natasha, Clint was a former agent of SHIELD, but he knew less about the legends and myths of the espionage world than his former partner, who had been raised since childhood to kill people and seduce, and spy.

"It's-It's nothing, guys, it's nothing…" she said slowly, not wanting her friends to see her scared. Thor stepped up, asking in his usual booming voice, "You must tell us what is troubling you, Lady Natasha. It will help you." Tony, Steve, Wanda 'Scarlet Witch' Maximoff, the team's latest member, and Clint nodded, while the Hulk, who was calming down, merely grunted.

"We should go. There's nothing we can do here." The others didn't like how she was avoiding their attempts to help, but they agreed that it was best they leave and tell Coulson.

* * *

Coulson, as it happens, was having a discussion with Rosalind Price, and did not take kindly to the seven heroes walking in and interrupting their meeting. Price offered to stay and hear what they had to say, and Coulson was not happy that someone else had beaten them to their target.

"Have any of you considered it was mass suicide?" he asked them, annoyed at them. Then Natasha produced the PPK, in a plastic evidence bag. Upon seeing this, Coulson's demeanour changed, as both he and Price stared at the gun in shock. As far as they knew, HYDRA did not use PPKs.

"Maybe it's time you learned about just who could've done this," he said slowly after a minute's silence. He got up, pointed a remote at the ceiling and the lights went out and a screen appeared on the wall. The office had no windows, for it was underground.

The Avengers turned to the screen, and saw multiple pictures and photographs, of various industrialists, military officers, terrorists and gangsters who had been either killed or imprisoned over the past twelve years:

* * *

"Le Chiffre, paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union in France and private banker to half the world's terrorists.

"Sir Hugo Drax, aka Hugo von der Drache-Neo-Nazi who masqueraded as a hero of Britain and planned to use the 'Moonraker' military satellite to bomb Moscow, New York and London.

"Dominic Greene-planned to buy up 60% of Bolivia's water supply, was found dead in the desert with two bullets in the back of his skull and motor oil in his stomach around June 2004.

"Doctor Julius No, a Chinese-German associate of the Tong criminal organisation who sabotaged American missile and rocket launches for North Korea and Iran.

"Konrad von Gloda, aka Aarne Tudeer, the mastermind behind the neo-fascist NSAA, shot dead in Stokholm Airport after most of his followers were killed by the Russian air force.

"Francisco Scaramanga-One of the world's best marksmen and freelance assassins, would charge ten million US dollars per hit.

"Aristotle Kristatos, a Greek gangster and drug lord. He was found dead in his car in 2007 with multiple bullets in his body."

Coulson and Price then finished their talk and let the Avengers think about all these corrupt men and women. Natasha was still pale, but still kept it to herself. It was Steve who said what Price and Coulson hoped would be said by one of them.

"They were all killed or their plans all foiled, by the same organisation."

Coulson nodded, before he gestured to Natasha. She reluctantly stepped forward, and began talking.

"Almost all of these men and women, along with most of their associates, have been killed over the past twelve years. It is generally accepted by the intelligence community that this is all the work of one person. The surviving witnesses say so, that it was one man who did all this."

Stark whistled. Clint elbowed him. Price decided to talk.

"He's cold, he's ruthless, he's suave. Apparently, he is also a British operative, for MI6. Just last year, he took out a heroin smuggling ring by Dr Julius Gorner, was involved in 'Operation: Thunderball', and killed the assassin 'Red' Grant."

"In total, he's killed well over 500 people, and poses little to no threat to SHIELD, America, or the world," finished Coulson. "As for his identity, well, barely anyone knows it, and he's a legend in the espionage world. I mentioned contemplating bringing him to aid me in interrogating a HYDRA agent, and the guy just broke down and started singing. Very few people who try and kill him make it out of the fight alive or in one piece, for that matter."

"SO, what's the guy's name? He sounds like a possible Avenger," said Tony, smirking. "He's killed 10 times the number of people as Bucky over the past 70 years under HYDRA's mind control and you want this guy to be an Avenger? I don't think he'd want to join," said Steve, slightly disgusted.

"Ah," said Coulson, "we don't know his name. All we know is his codename, and it's enough to tell us he's the best."

"007."

* * *

 **AN: Natasha, having been in the business for years, would doubtlessly turn pale at the mention of James Bond, or his codename. He shot Elektra King in what is pretty much cold blood, and while Natasha went all fancy moves on a small group of security guards, 007 would just shoot them all and save himself the time.**


	2. Chapter 2

"007?" asked Tony curiously. Coulson nodded. "All we know about MI6's 00-Section, which 007 is part of, is that they are composed of the British Secret Service's best agents, the crème de la crème of British espionage and assassination. And 007 is the best of them."

"Are there any photos of him that exist?" asked Steve. If there was a man like that around, he'd want to know what he looked like. Coulson nodded. "Yes, but it's very blurry." He pressed a button on the remote and came a blurred picture of a man sitting in a café dressed in a dark grey three-piece suit. All the Avengers could tell about his physical appearance was that he was most likely tall, and had dark hair.

"So he's killed around 500-ish people, and he hangs out in Italian cafes. And he uses a Walther PPK," said Clint, summarising everything the Avengers knew about the mysterious MI6 agent who had killed an entire base.

"Considering the number of bodies in that base, I'd say his kill count is now 1,000, Clint," stated Natasha matter-of-factly, her hands resting near her gun. According to a rumour, this 007 man was involved in her cousin, Tatiana Romanova, defecting to the West.

"Well now, you've all been told what myself, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Ms Price here know, so get out of this building now before I tell everyone your weaknesses," said Coulson in a calm, collected voice. The Avengers took his advice and exited the base.

* * *

"What should we do, now that we know what this man of England's spies looks like," asked Thor, clearly supporting going after him. Bruce shook his head, saying "No. That would be too damaging to the Avengers' reputation. And besides, he's a clean-shaven white man with dark hair. That is anything _but_ rare in the United Kingdom!"

Steve agreed, adding in, "I think we should just wait until we have an opportunity to meet him. Or at the very least, run into him by accident." Tony and Wanda looked at him strangely. "You're considering…..chance?" she asked. Steve nodded.

"It is better than not having a plan to go on, Man of Iron," said Thor to Tony. Natasha felt inclined to sit on the fence, but in the end she had convinced Clint to side with Steve.

"Four against three, ladies and gentlemen. That's democracy in action. We wait. Besides, who knows when the next terrorist crisis emerges?" said Steve, managing a weak smile.

* * *

They were all interrupted from their thoughts whilst walking along the footpath by a loud rev from a car. Turning round, they were greeted by the sight of a gunmetal grey Aston Martin DB5 pulling up onto the sidewalk. The car engine was then turned off by the driver, and the seven heroes saw the doors open and a man step out.

The man seemed to be in his forties, with black hair and eyebrows and green-blue eyes. He was quite tall; around six foot two, and slim. He was dressed in a black three-piece suit with dark green striped tie, and expensive black shoes.

"Good evening. I was wondering if any of you could help me with something," he said in a British accent, approaching the five men and two women.

"What would like us to help you with, sir?" asked Steve. The man looked at Steve with a look of curiosity in his eyes. "Well, I don't want to waste your valuable time, Captain." Steve's eyes widened as he and the rest of the Avengers stared at this newcomer strangely, Wanda successfully controlling her telepathy and not using it.

"I'm looking for a hotel. Preferably one that has a rating of 3 stars or above and a good bar nearby," he said simply. Tony smiled, knowing the answer to that question.

"Well, that's easy enough for me. Look where my finger is pointing, in the distance. See the sign saying Sprang Hotel? A big bar, with efficient room service, and a 4-star rating. You will enjoy yourself there."

The man looked at Tony for a few seconds before he smiled. "Well, Mr. Stark, I will thank you tomorrow if you're right and I hope to see you again soon."

All this time, Natasha was looking at him strangely. Was he hiding something? His car looked nice, and his fashion sense better than Tony's and her own, which was saying something, and he knew who they were straight away. However, she quickly doused her suspicions. Lots of people knew who they were, lots of people recognised the, and everybody has a secret of some sort.

Shaking the man's hand, Tony asked him, "What brings you here?"

"Oh," said the man, smirking now. "I'm on a, uh, business trip. I work for Universal Exports, in London. The car was inherited from my parents when they died. I was around 12 when it happened." His smirk was gone, but he then flashed a quick smile and let go of Tony's hand. He then walked towards his car.

"By the way," Clint called out to the man as he opened the door of his car, causing the other Avengers to look at him. "What's your name?"

The name turned around, facing the Avengers, looking at them for around ten seconds, and he said:

"My name's Bond. James Bond."

* * *

 **AN: Although Daniel Craig and Sean Connery are my two favourite Bonds, I'm going to be using Timothy Dalton's likeness for Bond (He was a great 007. He should've been there for FYEO onwards).**

 **Let me know who you think the villain that they face together should be through the reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

Immediately after telling his name to the Avengers, James Bond then proceeded to get into his car, and drive off in the direction of the Spang Hotel. They watched him as he drove off, and immediately began asking questioning what he said about himself.

"Did you read his mind, Wanda?" asked Tony, hoping she did. "Nope. I didn't want to invade his privacy," she replied. "How old do you think he is, Steve?" asked Clint, smirking sheepishly, earning him a slap on the arm from Natasha.

"I'd say he's around 40, maybe 42, years old," said Steve, before adding, "So around 6 years younger than Tony at most." Tony glared before laughing sarcastically. "Enough, both of you," said Bruce and Natasha together.

"His name, James Bond," said Natasha, thoughtfully. "I remember reading about him somewhere once, around 2009-2010. It may not be important. Come on, we've got to head back to the Tower."

* * *

At the Avengers Tower, their earlier interest in MI6 Agent 007 had died down in most of them, and they each split up to do their own thing: Bruce was in the lab, splitting atoms, Tony was creating a new robotic arm for massages, Thor went to Jane, carrying Pop Tarts with him, Wanda went for a nap, and Clint was firing arrows at targets ('As if he needs to better that skill', he'd heard Tony say behind his back as he walked away).

Natasha and Steve were the only ones that kept any sort of interest in 007, and began researching him further using Steve's laptop.

"Okay, so he shut down the Spang twins in Las Vegas, and shut down their diamond-smuggling operation. That was in 2005, ten years ago. Then, he was chasing Russian General Arkady Ouromov four months ago through Saint Petersburg in a tank, then he took out the arms dealer, Whitaker, and here he is in Istanbul, 2006. This was when the SMERSH base there was broken into and damaged."

"The-the Red….The Red Room, Steve. The Red Room," said Natasha, her face as pale as when they had found the Walther PPK. Steve turned around, confusion etched upon his face. "What about it?" "SMERSH…'Smiert Spionam'-'Death to Spies', they controlled the Red Room. They were a branch of the KGB, mostly run by neo-communists and sadists. Le Chiffre was part of them, as was Mr. Big, the Caribbean crime lord who went missing in 2004. Their treasurer was the jeweller and businessman, Auric Goldfinger. Remember Fort Knox?"

"Oh yeah, right. He tried to irradiate the gold in Fort Knox, destroying the American economy and increasing the value of his own gold. His body was found amongst the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in the Atlantic, off the coast of South Carolina. Cause of death was strangulation."

"Also, 007 was involved in the death of La Paz's Chief of Police, along with those of exiled General Medrano, who attempted to stage a coup in 1998, and businessman philanthropist Dominic Greene in the Bolivian desert, all in 2005. Apparently, Greene was trying to buy a large area of land in the desert that turned out to hold a massive supply of fresh water, equivalent of a full quarter of the country's water supply, and then sell it at extortionate prices."

"That sounds wrong in every possible way, Nat. Selling water at those prices to Third World countries," said Steve, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

Natasha nodded in agreement, before continuing. "Additionally, although this is unrelated, I found out that Mr. James Bond has a C.M.G., given to him in early 2006. And I also found the list of places where he was educated, primary level-second-level, and third-level."

"Primary-was home-schooled by parents due to his father's occupation, representative of Vickers-Armstrong Armaments, necessitating travel. His parents died in a climbing accident in January of 1985, which makes him twelve, as he said to us earlier.

"Second-level and third-level education: Eton College, but was expelled after two terms following five curfew violations and an incident involving one of the maids. Was then educated in Fettes College, his father's alma matter where he twice boxed for the school as a lightweight, then studied Oriental Languages in Cambridge before going on an exchange to the University of Geneva. Was taught how to ski, use rifles and speak fluent Italian and Polish by his temporary guardian after his parents' deaths, Hannes Oberhauser, who died in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps in 1990."

"In 1992, he joined the Royal Navy Reserves and left in 1999, having served in forty-six different countries and achieving the rank of Commander. He currently works for Universal Exports, Ltd, an import-export company based in London. He is one of their top senior officials and is frequently sent abroad to carry out important business deals and/or to attend conferences."

"Wait, look. Stop there," said Steve, asking Natasha to pause her slideshow about 007, "that's Stockholm Airport, 2010, when von Gloda was shot, right?"

The redheaded Russian nodded. "Yes it is. Why are you interested?"

"Because, Natasha," Steve said, pointing at the dark-haired man on the ground pointing a gun at von Gloda, then zooming in and getting rid of the blur, "that man with the gun, is Mr. James Bond of Universal Exports. Additionally, he was one of the only survivors of the plane crash that killed Mr Goldfinger, _and_ here he is in Bratislava, at a concert where one of the attendees is Russian General Georgi Koskov, who was executed eighteen months ago. He looks like he's keeping an eye on him."

Steve and Natasha looked at each other in silent and shared realisation. Then Natasha spoke: "Steve, I think we may have just found MI6's 007."

* * *

 **So at long last, the Avengers put two and two together.**

 **In the Avengers' timeline, this is post-** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **. In my idea of Bond's timeline, this is between** _ **Goldeneye**_ **and** _ **License to Kill**_ **.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait. So we met the MI6 guy who beat us to that HYDRA base and we didn't know it?" said Clint, shocked at how they had had the opportunity to meet him. "And to think it was that guy? Whenever I think of stone-cold killers who are suave and sophisticated, I think of Ted Bundy or some thug with charisma, not a good-looking British guy who seems really nice and intelligent."

"What about Loki? He has a British accent and has incredible charisma," said Tony, causing Thor to glare at him angrily. "Let's remind ourselves that Loki simply has Daddy issues and loves his brother a bit too much," said Natasha, spreading her arms out to prevent a fight.

"Still, at least we know who he is," said Steve. The others nodded at this.

"Yes, perhaps you can all get together sometime, and see who can kill more terrorists," said a voice. The Avengers stopped talking immediately and turned to the elevator. In front of the elevator was a man aged around fifty-three years of age with brown hair that was receding and blue eyes, dressed in a dark grey double-breasted chalk suit with pale lavender shirt and dark red tie with paisley pattern and black quarter-brogues.

* * *

Immediately, the Avengers drew their weapons, but the man held up his hands, stating simply "If I were a HYDRA agent, you'd know about it by now."

This had no effect on the superheroes, and Steve took it upon himself to be the first person on the Avengers' side to ask a question: "Who are you? And how did you get in here?" The man lowered his hands, placing one at his side, and the other holding on to his lapel.

"To answer the second question, Captain, Stark's fiancée let me in. I simply told her and the A.I. that I was asked by the British government on short notice and thus, was unable to schedule an appointment."

Everybody in the room heard Tony groan slightly and mutter "I should replace her." The man shook his head slightly. His demeanour was serious.

"And to answer your first question, M. That is what you must refer to me when referring to me, using your words or letters. If addressing me, 'M' or 'sir'. I am the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, and 007's superior."

It was this explanation that finally got the team to lower their weapons. M sighed, apparently relieved that they believed him.

"Well, now that that has been sorted, I believe it's time I ask some questions of my own," he said simply, his face lacking emotion.

"Okay then. Fire up," said Tony, calm. M glared at him before regaining his composure.

* * *

"Why are you researching 007?"

Steve, Natasha and Wanda tensed slightly and glanced quickly at one another.

"Three years ago, MI6 was the target of a terrorist attack that killed many of our men and women, orchestrated by a cyberterrorist who once worked for us, and contained information about our agents and agents from every other NATO country embedded in various terrorist groups. If you keep digging for information about 007, this could possibly happen again, as well as the fiasco of last year. So please stop it."

"The reason why we were researching your agent, sir," began Wanda, "is because we wanted to know why Natasha seemed to look terrified when she saw his gun." She handed M the gun, still in the plastic bag. M walked over to her and took it. "Thank you, you have no idea how pissed off our Quartermasters get whenever he doesn't bring back the equipment they give him. "

"Kinda like Clint and the hearing aids your wife keeps buying you," said Natasha sardonically, grinning when she saw the reaction she wanted from the archer.

M shook his head slightly, then continued. "My second question is-What do you know about him?"

"Orphan, Cambridge-educated, high body count, suave, seems to have saved the world more times than either of us have, likes fast cars and hot women, and did I mention the body count?" said Tony. "Thank goodness, I was worried you'd have discovered everything else about him, but I suppose that you can learn his more personal qualities for yourselves," replied M, smiling contentedly.

"My final question, is less of a question, and more of a request: Make sure he doesn't level the East Coast. We have a hell of hard time already with the Russian government trying to cover up the incident in Saint Petersburg and Severnaya." With that, M simply walked back to the elevator.

"What does that mean, sir? Make sure he doesn't level the East Coast?" asked Clint. M turned around quickly and smiled a wider smile than before.

"Quite simple really, Agent Barton. You and your friends here, as of half an hour ago, thanks to my friends within the hierarchy of the newly reformed SHIELD, are going to be working with 007, who is here on assignment, which I think someone else should tell you about. My only hint for you is the Gala Party being hosted in your honour tomorrow. Black tie, or white tie if you're not used to that, Captain." He nodded at Steve saying this. "Well, that's my part in this done. Goodbye."

M pressed a button, opening the elevator doors and then stepped in, straightening his tie as he did so. After he stepped in, he saluted to the seven superheroes staring at him, pressed a button, and the doors closed and the elevator descended down to the ground.

* * *

 **The fourth chapter completed. The fifth one should be up at some point before Christmas.**

 **AN: The reason why Banner isn't present much is because I think he's keeping quiet. And Wanda has managed to learn how to control her abilities, and because she doesn't want to invade other peoples' privacy, she won't use it.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

The Gala Party was to be held at The Plaza Hotel at 7.30pm, and the Avengers were dressed to the nines. Tony was in a black tuxedo with peak lapel and cream-coloured shirt with spread collar. Steve, as usual, was in mess dress, Clint was in a tuxedo that resembled Tony's, only with notch lapel and midnight blue colour. Thor was in a tuxedo with clip-on tie, and unlike Tony, who had his jacket fully-buttoned, and Clint, who wore his open, he had only one jacket buttoned. Bruce was the same, only his tuxedo was double-breasted with a pale green shirt.

Natasha had her hair styled to the right and was dressed in a low-cut, ankle-length dress with a slit that went up to the knee, revealing black thigh-high stockings and high-heeled shoes. Wanda was dressed more conservatively, in a maroon dress with high collar that went down to her knees with matching ankle-high boots.

"Okay," called out Tony, clapping his hands together, "we ready?" Everybody nodded and/or said "Yes," "Yeah, sure," and/or "Sadly, yep."

"Wonderful!" said Tony, grinning, "Let's head down. Pepper's waiting for us with those lawyers from Hell's Kitchen. The ones that helped put Wilson Fisk away."

Natasha smirked the moment he mentioned the two lawyers, and together, the seven heroes went down to the bottom of the Tower, entering Stark's limousine, where Pepper was sitting and chatting to the two lawyers, one of whom had a white cane between his legs and red-tinted sunglasses.

They all talked and debated during the drive, and when they had arrived at the party, Natasha, Clint and Wanda had two new friends, one of whom was willing to pierce Tony's ego.

By the time they had entered, they had been photographed by at least 100 different people, each of whom Tony was currently paying $500 to in order to have the photos deleted unless they were. The lawyers went off, and the Avengers stayed relatively close, but keeping a distance.

* * *

"Ah, there you are, Captain Rogers" said M to Steve, dressed in a double-breasted tuxedo with three pairs of medals hanging from his jacket. Steve turned around and saw the medals on M's left jacket-breast. M saw Steve's eyes move to the medals and he decided to explain to the Captain what they were.

"A DSC, an MC, a Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct, a Gulf Medal, a SGM, and a CGS," he said. Steve hummed slightly and raised an eyebrow. "They look good, M." M nodded, replying, "As do yours." Steve nodded, before asking "Where is Mr. Bo-I mean, 007?"

M glanced to his left. "I asked him to wear black-tie here, but he's decided to prepare for his retirement twelve years early by wearing his uniform."

Steve turned and saw Bond in uniform. He whistled at the number of medals that the spy had on his person, and what they were. He also saw Natasha walk over to Bond, and decided to continue conversation with M.

* * *

"Royal Navy Reserves, rank of Commander, a lot of medals. Interesting," said Natasha in an impressed voice, the voice she used whenever seducing men. Bond looked at her and raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"And you, Miss Romanova, only ever received two decorations: Medal of Zhukov and a Bronze Star Medal from the US," he replied. "Whereas I have a GWOT-S from the US, given after Goldfinger, a CMG in 2006, a CGC, a DFC, DSC, a BEM, an MSM, a Reserve Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Queen's Medal for Champion Shots of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, Cross of the Order of Merit of the FDR, a QGM, a SGM, an OBE, Mentioned in Despatches, National Order of Merit from France, due to the Greene thing I'm an Officer in the Order of the Condor of the Andes, and last year, a Hero of the Russian Federation for preventing former SMERSH agents from blowing up the Kremlin. When I retire I'll be eligible for a KCB, a CBE and a promotion to Commodore."

Natasha's eyes widened. "Jesus, and I thought Steve had a lot of medals. You're on the way to a Knighthood."

At this, Bond smiled and laughed half-heartedly. "They suggested giving me a KCMG after I killed Scaramanga, but I didn't want to end up in the public eye whilst still in the business." Natasha looked at him, then said, "I can't believe that you really did do all the things that they say that you did in the spying world."

Bond then looked around, checking if people were listening, then said to her in a quieter voice, "Well, I was the youngest 00- in MI6 history at twenty-nine, and I have known about you for the past ten years."

"Well I hope my reputation doesn't precede me," replied Natasha, grinning. So far, her chatting-up the most dangerous man on Earth had yielded several results:

-He had a lot of nerve and bravery (with a little touch from Lady Luck), judging by the medals

-Personality-wise, he had some charisma, but despite how he was seemingly handling talking to me well, his eyes seemed to show nervousness and sadness. Was it a woman from his past?

-He had good self-esteem and was somewhere in between extrovert and introvert, judging by how he mentioned his parents' deaths, and his slight showing of awkwardness tonight around so many superheroes

-Additionally, it appears that the vodka martini in his hand (shaken, not stirred) is his third one since he got here, and his third alcoholic beverage since he got here, and he's been here long enough to talk to a few people, but not reach every corner of the room, so only around forty minutes, then. He's a drinker, but not a total alcoholic

-He clearly seems to be the type of person who could kill everyone in this room and walk out like it was a normal Tuesday for him. So possible psychopathy, but then, what spy/assassin doesn't?

-And he is really…am I beginning to think he's good looking?

* * *

"What do you know, anyway, about the Graves-Carver Corporation, Miss Romanova?" he said to her, knocking her out of her small bubble of concentration. She looked up at him, her eyebrow raised slightly.

"What do I know about Graves-Carver?" she asked him. Bond nodded. "Yes. I don't think I asked you how you'd like our relationship to work." He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Well, the Graves-Carver Corporation is involved in media, software and metallurgy, and was founded in the 1980s. It's now ranked no. 9 on Forbes' Fortune 500, and the CEO is a Charles Fantasma," said Natasha, off the top of her head. Bond smiled.

"Good. I hoped I wasn't interrupting any important thoughts," replied Bond, sipping his drink. Natasha looked at the martini.

"Do you drink often?" she asked. Bond looked at her. "It depends. According to the psychologists, my stress levels go down whenever the stakes are higher, and that when I drink heavily, it's less of a vice, more a way of testing my limits. So far, I've been well, not sure about the liver, though."

"That's….interesting," said Natasha, looking at him confused. Then, some mist began swirling from the front of the room, where the podium was located, and a man began to rise from the floor.

* * *

 **Yes, Natasha is the Bond Girl/Woman. Because she's sexy, Russian and pretty much Bond's equal in SHIELD. And at this point, I'm wondering about having either SPECTRE or HYDRA as the villain.**

 **Reviews are welcome. Favourite if you like it, follow it if you love it.**


	6. Chapter 6

The man in question was Charles Fantasma, a man who appeared to be aged 53 years, and was 5 foot 11 inches tall, with broad shoulders, very dark brown hair with a white streak on the left side, light blue eyes, rounded ears that barely stuck out, and a medium build. His dress that evening consisted of a black high-collared Nehru jacket with light grey trousers.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he called out once behind the podium in a Greek accent. "This Gala Party is being held in order to honour the group of talented individuals known the world over as 'The Avengers'. From a giant green living WMD…" This caused a few laughs and chuckles from people, including Bruce Banner himself. "To the original superhero himself, Captain America, and Tony Stark, whose idea of a secret identity is blurting it out on national television." More laughs, this time including every Avenger bar Tony, with Bond chuckling also.

"Of course, there are people here and in other places who aren't happy with the fact that your last fight caused much destruction, but I don't blame it on you. Had you lost, the damage would have been much worse. The same thing for what happened three years ago here in New York. Besides, I say we should thank you Stark for delivering the killing blow to those invaders. Had you been killed before the government launched that nuke, so many people would've died."  
Fantasma began clapping, and this started a wave of applause that lasted for about a full minute.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, the buffet is open. Please help yourselves if you wish."

Many of the guests went off to the buffet, while Natasha stayed close to Bond and Steve stayed close to M. "Why are you looking into Fantasma and Graves-Carver?" she asked 007, who glanced quickly and briefly at her stockinged and shapely legs before answering with "Well, two months ago, one of their top scientists said he had information about the company which troubled him, he told us where to meet him but when we got there, he was dead from arsenic poisoning."

"And you think they're connected?" asked Natasha, in a quiet voice. Bond nodded. "This Gala Party was the perfect place to get near Fantasma. The HYDRA base I beat you and friends to was me chasing a lead. I made sure to bring one survivor, but all he told us were the words 'Heroes, past, alliance,' before biting down on a cyanide pill in his tooth."

"Wait, wait, wait. HYDRA is in on this?"

"You haven't reduced their power, even though Baron von Strucker is in hiding ever since Ultron killed his double. You've crippled them. They're resorting to carrying out the plans of more powerful organisations now. In other words, mercenary work."

"Wow. A conspiracy involving a large multinational and a 70-year old secret society with advanced weaponry. It sounds like something out of a film."

"Well, that's real life since May 2012," replied Bond in a deadpan voice.

* * *

Nearby, Steve and M were discussing the same thing.

"Are you sure that Fantasma may be the man in charge, M? He could just as easily be a puppet, or have no clue what's going on," asked Steve, looking at the industrialist.

"I understand where you're going, Captain Rogers, but the fact is, we don't know what exactly we're looking for," said M in a quiet voice. "When we heard about Fantasma's Gala Party here in New York, we decided to use it to get close to him, and when the HYDRA base went up in smoke, thanks to 007, we realised it would only be a matter of time before we got you and your friends involved."

"Ah. Okay. So what is the plan?"

"Our Quarter master is setting up shop in an abandoned subway station in Manhattan. He'll provide 007 with some of his equipment, and reprimand him for damaging anything else."

"What about Stark? He has a lot of equipment, and connections."

"Mister Stark is hopefully going to give 007 some of his equipment, and stay with Q so he (Stark) doesn't blow anything up whilst drunk. Better his money than the Service's that 007 destroys or damages."

Steve could only laugh at that comment. But he felt a slight unease at what was possibly going to unfold.

"007 and Miss Romanova will then sneak into their offices here in New York and copy some of the files. Barton will provide the security distraction and Q will freeze the security cameras. Does it sound like a plan?"

"Yeah," said Steve as he saw Bond and Natasha walking towards the dance-floor.

"Yeah, it does."

* * *

 **AN: Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I just didn't want to end this story too fast.**

 **Fantasma's appearance is modelled on Jason Isaacs. Seriously, he would a great Bond villain. As would Thomas Kretschmann, Tim Roth, Mark Strong, Gary Oldman, Vincent Cassel and/or Diane Kruger. As would the great David Bowie, who very nearly became Max Zorin in 1985.**

 **RIP, Ziggy Stardust. The world is a sadder and less interesting place without you.**

 **And RIP Alan Rickman. You were the best actor to set foot in Hogwarts and one of the best Sheriffs of Nottingham.**


End file.
